Italy {Rome}

Rome did not start off that great, in fact it started out awful.

We flew from Genova to Rome, a direct flight mind you.

After arriving at the Rome airport everyone's luggage in the group

arrived except for my mom's luggage. That's when the fiasco of

trying to find it began. We waited for 2 hours, tried to talk to the airline (Vueling), 

and yet not much help at all.  We filled out some paperwork and the next day

I went with my parents back to the Rome airport to try and find my mom's luggage.

I was determined. It was one run around after the other, they had said

they'd had a fire the previous day and there was lots of lost luggage.
Unfortunately to this day she has yet to receive her lost luggage
and no monetary compensation, 

what a joke right!?

That day cut into our Rome adventures, meaning we finally met up with the group at 6 pm, 

it was unfortunate. But my mom's a champ and was determined to have a great time

and not let that ruin our time there. We absolutely made sure to eat pasta, see the sights, of

course we indulged in more gelato, shopped and tried to see as many sights as possible before

we flew out to Spain. Rome is your typical big city, and it's easy to get trapped

in the tourist traps if you don't make it a point to leave them. There is so much more to Rome

than the Colosseum, Trevi fountain and Spanish Steps. There are quaint neighborhoods, beautiful

river walks and fabulous hole-in-the-wall joints to enjoy amazing food. I'm glad that we did both. 

Even though Rome was a rough start to say the least, it redeemed itself in many other ways

including bidding us farewell with one of the most stunning sunsets.

Next up: San Sebastian, Spain